Voices 10 tech stories you may have missed

Millions of small organizations promoting on-line; the return of unfashionable era; and eight different traits accountants and their clients want to recognize about.

1. Amazon file cites greater than 1 million small-enterprise dealers on a platform. A current Small Business Impact Report from Amazon indicates that extra than one million U.S.-primarily based small and midsized groups are selling on Amazon and have generated more than 900,000 jobs worldwide. These organizations are in all 50 states and greater than a hundred thirty nations, with more than 20,000 of them surpassing $1 million in income on Amazon in 2017. The file additionally says that half the gadgets purchased on Amazon are from SMBs. (Source: Forbes)

Why that is crucial in your commercial enterprise and your clients: When it comes to small-enterprise effect, I’m on Team Amazon here. Sure, many small online merchants conflict in opposition to the e-commerce giant. But many, many greater traders -– in spite of Amazon’s every now and then draconian policy and necessities — have realized the more lucrative opportunities after they become Amazon merchants. I consider that if you’re selling online, being an Amazon service provider should be as a minimum one of your channels.

2. Google’s secret to defending its employees from hacking is bodily keys. Google has introduced a sturdy answer for phishing cyberattacks towards its employees: The corporation says the adoption of bodily Security Keys has stopped the attacks. Security Keys are small USB stick devices made by organizations like YubiKey that feature just like -issue authentication (2FA) methods its personnel may additionally already be using. With 2FA enabled, hackers need more than just a username and password to get entry to. (Source: Popular Mechanics)

Why that is vital to your business and your clients: This object got a variety of media interest due to the fact … nicely, if it really works for Google, then it has to be something profitable – and it is. Considering all of the ways your company’s and your clients’ statistics may be stolen, and all the charges related to a facts breach, it may make sense with a purpose to do what Google does: Spend a few bucks and equip your personnel with Security Keys.

3. A tech blogger says that “unfashionable” era still makes sense for a few IT initiatives. Tech Republic creator Mary Shacklett thinks that “retro” technology nevertheless has a place in the world. “Sometimes, retro solutions are the best manner to attack nagging IT problems. In those 3 situations, they might make feel: 1) If the era solves maximum of your issues and might pay for itself. 2) When you define your preliminary commercial enterprise case for brand spanking new generation however first look downstream for what might be needed. 3) When prison requirements for uninterrupted information custody require a more conventional, on-premise data garage answer in preference to the cloud.” (Source: Tech Republic)

Why that is essential to your enterprise and your clients: I agree! Sometimes old school is better than new, and you can discover that using attempted-and-genuine generation has a more go back on investment than whatever else. Just as it’s more recent doesn’t imply it’s better.

Four. Windows 10: these two new builds deliver lots of trojan horse fixes. Microsoft has simply released Windows 10 construct 17134.191 for Windows 10 Versions 1803 or the April 2018 Update, in addition, to Build 16299.579 for Windows 10 customers on Version 1709 or the Fall Creators Update. For users strolling either of the 2 brand new variations of Windows 10, Microsoft has numerous trojan horse fixes to improve the OS for corporation environments. The replace for 1803, called KB4340917, doesn’t introduce new functions but does restore many troubles that could be inflicting problems for directors managing cellular gadgets. (Source: ZDNet)

Why that is crucial to your commercial enterprise and your customers: Please, please … make sure your Windows running systems on every computer and server for your firm are updated. There are millions of bots international looking for older Windows operating structures with protection vulnerabilities and the nice way to hold your network as comfy as viable is by way of strolling the maximum recent variations of Windows software program.

Courtesy: Microsoft
5. Microsoft unveils lighter $399 Surface Go pill to tackle iPads and Chromebooks. Microsoft recently unveiled its $399 Surface Go, a smaller tablet pc that competes with Apple’s iPad and Google’s Chromebooks. It’s a reasonably priced, 1.15-pound, solid pill with a 10-inch show, making it a smaller, lighter, and less expensive model of Microsoft’s different tablet computer — the Surface Pro 3 — which has been discontinued. (Source: USA Today) (Note: My organization, The Marks Group PC, is a Microsoft associate)

Why that is essential in your enterprise and your customers: It’s lighter, it’s inexpensive, it’s smaller … and it may also be higher than an iPad? Could be a winner for the business visitor or a cellular employee.

6. Apple updates its MacBook Pro with new processors and better keyboards. Apple lately updated some of its MacBook Pro computer systems. The biggest trade is the improve to Intel’s cutting-edge 8th-technology processors, which now ship within the 15-inch and thirteen-inch MacBook Pro models. Apple says users should see as much as a 70 percent overall performance raise on the six-center 15-inch model and up to 2 instances the performance on the very best-case thirteen-inch model. (Source: CNBC)

Why this is vital to your commercial enterprise and your clients: Many personnel at small businesses rely on the Macbook for their computing needs, and an improve like this guarantees to speed up the device’s performance and therefore assist growth productivity.

7. The Department of Energy will award almost $100M in small biz tech R&D offers. The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that it will award ninety-five grants worth a complete of $ ninety-five million to 80 small groups placed in 26 states as part of its Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer applications. (Source: ExecutiveGov.Com)

Why that is crucial in your business and your customers: Many small organizations overlook that the authorities – mainly its extra technical branches — have masses of hundreds of thousands of dollars of price range available to assist them to develop their groups, spend money on technologies and create new technologies that the government can also purchase. The Department of Energy’s application is but one in all many offered that could create possibilities for small organizations.

Eight. Google announces Cloud Build, its new non-stop integration and shipping platform. Google just announced the release of Cloud Build — its new Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery framework. The employer describes it as a “fully-controlled CI/CD platform that lets you construct, take a look at, and deploy software program fast, at scale.” Cloud Build works throughout a selection of environments which includes VMs, serverless, Kubernetes, or Firebase. It additionally supports Docker containers and offers builders or operations the power to build, take a look at, and set up in an increasing number of computerized style. (Source: Tech Crunch)

Why this is critical to your business and your clients: This new provider impacts any commercial enterprise – big or small – that develops packages and can be an excellent larger advantage to the businesses that integrate their applications with Google apps like Gmail and G Suite.

Nine. How technology is saving PetSmart thousands and thousands by way of doing away with sales fraud. PetSmart says it saved $12 million in 2017 by way of catching criminals the usage of high-tech methods — particularly, pinpointing fraudulent orders before they had been shipped. Like many different shops, it’s far the usage of advanced gadget learning generation from fraud prevention provider Kount to take fraud prevention to the next stage by means of now not simply preventing losses on the stores however additionally supporting authorities prosecute criminals. By tracking online fraudsters in 2017, PetSmart changed into able to cancel nearly $four million in fraudulent orders and is on course to do even higher in 2018. (Source: ZDNet)

Why that is vital to your business and your clients: If you or your customers are promoting merchandise online, you’re exposed to fraudulent transactions when criminals use stolen credit score card numbers to purchase merchandise. That’s now not fun. The true information is that there are a bunch of corporations the usage of synthetic intelligence and system getting to know era that will help you – like PetSmart and others – minimize this danger.

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10. How technology is revolutionizing underpants. Technology is now reworking undies, with high-overall performance underwear that declare to do the entirety from filtering flatulence to emitting soothing vibrations. With improvements in fiber technologies and knitting production, underpants nowadays may be excessive-tech, with the inclusion of haptic conversation. For instance, Sydney-born, New York-primarily based agency Wearable-X has teamed with condom manufacturer Durex to create interactive underwear known as Fundawear—which has a “vibrating touch” that can be transferred from everywhere in the world through a smartphone app.